MUKILTEO, Wash. -- It was a scene parents have watched play out on their televisions screens too many times.
On Monday morning police swarmed Mukilteo's Kamiak High after a report of possible gunfire inside the school.
It sent parents into a panic, exchanging text messages with their frightened children.
"I have a couple kids in there," said Stacie Dodson. "I'm just worried. I keep asking them, where are you? What's going on?"
"It's scary with all the things happening in the world today," added parent Aminata Ndiaye. "You don't know what to say. I'm just numb."
The "gunfire" turned out to be fireworks blown off in a third floor stairwell, but no one knew that at the time.
The school went into immediate lock down, meaning classroom doors were locked and teachers were ordered not to open them for anyone. Police are supposed to open those doors with master keys. In this case, however, there were so many police responding to different floors in different buildings across the sprawling campus that they had a hard time finding enough keys to to let them in.
There were delays throughout the 3-1/2 hour lock down.
Police, however, downplayed the problem.
"If a higher level of risk was involved we would've found different ways to get inside the rooms," said Mukilteo Police officer Colt Davis. "We wouldn't have waited for a key. We would've forced entry to the rooms to get inside there."
Davis said police have spoken with school administrators about having more keys readily available.
Police are looking at surveillance video to determine who set off the fireworks and why. They now say notes found stuck to several lockers are not related to the incident.
Student Edwin Romero said this is not how he wants to spend his senior year.
"Why do this? You've got parents and students upset. If it's just a prank, grow up. This is unbelievable."
